Am I eligible for housing disrepair help?

Housing disrepair is any damage to a tenant's property which is the responsibility of the landlord, is causing a diminished level of enjoyment to the tenant within their home, and is as a result of poor upkeep by the landlord towards their housing stock. This is usually set out in Section 11 of your tenancy agreement, so if you have yours to hand you could always be worth double checking the wording.

In general, issues such as damp and mould resulting from structural or plumbing issues, unresolved rodent infestations, damaged and defective windows, as well as electrical and heating issues could all fit within the remit of housing disrepair.

The important facet here is that the issues will need to have been reported, otherwise the landlord could be completely unaware of any issues. Any action here would be a little unfair in this instance.

The great news for tenants suffering with unresponsive landlords is that the law is on their side.

Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1985

Section 11 should fall within your tenancy agreement, this places an obligation on the landlord to maintain the structure and exterior of the property, including installations for the supply of water, gas and electricity, heating systems, drainage and sanitary appliances.

The Human Habitation Act 2018

This law came to pass in March 2019 and enforces the landlord's responsibility to ensure they are meeting the level required for property standards and safety.

The simplest way of getting your disrepair resolved should be to negotiate with your landlord. Genuine and decent landlords should resolve your property issues with very little friction. It's the landlords who drag their feet, seem unwilling to resolve property issues and give the industry a bad reputation that can make a disrepair claim a necessity.

Any UK tenant can commence a claim by themselves; however, due to the complex nature of the process, many prefer to utilise the expertise and knowledge of specialists. Here at The Tenant Help Service, we specialise in providing support to South West based social-housing tenants, therefore, provided you rent from either the council or a housing association tenant, and have exhausted their complaints procedure, you will qualify for our assistance. Simply click on the link to get started!

The best bit about this, it's no-win-no-fee meaning there's no up-front fees for making a speculative enquiry.

If your case is a success, great news, you can expect:

Compulsory repairs

Yep, that's right, we'll liaise with your landlord to negotiate the completion of any outstanding repairs. These have to be completed to "a professional standard", failure to do so could result in further financial penalties for your landlord.

Financial Compensation

Regardless of whether you pay directly for your rent, or some of it is paid for by the state, you will be entitled to a level of compensation to cover you for the inconvenience of living in a defective property, any associated damages to your possessions and for any ill health you or your family may have endured.

Getting started is both quick and simple, and can be completed on the form located on this page. Once your enquiry has been submitted, you'll be given a few options on the next page, including our fast-track application process.

Whatever option you choose, we'd love to be able to help you!